All For Nothing
by Carley Idonea
Summary: (UPDATED - Chapter 7) I'd come to Las Vegas to escape my past, yet my past had caught up with me. Louise Carter has more than just a pretty face and a great wardrobe. Being a CSI level 2 is just the beginning for the familiar face to the Vegas team. Greg/OC
1. Prologue

**All for Nothing**

_I'd come to Las Vegas to escape my past, yet my past had caught up with_ _me_

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**Prologue**

Louise Carter blended remarkably well into any crowd and on the busy Interstate; her dark SUV drew little attention. She'd been driving for 4 days, on a trip that should've taken less than two. Admittedly for the first 17 hours she'd driven aimlessly in the direction of Miami before deciding that her destination was Las Vegas. She wasn't sure what she was seeking in Las Vegas but it was better than New York. Better than what she'd left behind. Better than a city filled with memories, familiarities and worst of all, him. Just the thought of the pronoun made her shudder. Her life was in boxes in the on the seats behind her; her phone was ringing constantly from the depths of her purse in the passenger seat. The lights of Las Vegas reassured her and soon, she had found her bearings, driving through familiar streets and recognising landmarks. As escape was no longer her priority, she allowed herself to slow down and realised how exhausted she truly was. Pulling up outside the next hotel that she saw, she grabbed her purse, locked the car and walked over to the reception desk. The plush carpet under her aching heels helped her to identify the upmarket business that she had just strayed into. After an age of the concierge searching for a room, she walked out with the key to a $200 per night suite, but money was not her concern. She needed to sleep and she needed to think. Someone unpacked her boxes and she handed her keys to the valet, following her boxes to her suite. Ten minutes, she collapsed on the massive bed, kicked off the uncomfortable shoes and curled up, asleep within moments.

Xxx

Light streamed through the curtains that Louise hadn't closed and a persistent knocking on her door brought her out of her state of sleep. She took in the time on the alarm clock next to her. _17.46._ She'd slept for almost 20 hours. Groaning, she stumbled out of bed and grudgingly opened the door to a familiar face. "_Louise_! What are you doing here?" He glared, storming in. "Your parents have issued a Missing Person's report and no one has heard from you in days!"  
She closed the door behind him, "Good to see you too, Uncle Gil."  
Louise had never seen Gil Grissom looking so angry.

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**A.N - This is my first attempt at a CSI fic and while I will try to keep everything in canon, I can't promise anything. It is set at the start of season three but will probably not follow _that _many episodes in the series (obviously the important ones will feature). Unfortunately I don't own CSI or anything to do with the franchise. Eventually Greg/OC (emphasis on _eventually)._**

**__Please R&R, I'd love to know what you think.  
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	2. Chapter 1 Missing Persons

**All For Nothing  
**

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**Chapter 1 – Missing Persons**

Louise took one last look around her empty apartment, running her hand along the kitchen island, the cold granite sending a shiver of excitement down her spine. One lone box sat in the middle of the living room and she crouched down to tape it up.  
"Wow Louise," her best friend, Paul, walked in, "I can't believe you're actually moving in with Jem. It feels like the end of an era."  
She smiled up at him, "I know; there are so many memories in this apartment."  
He picked up the box, "I'll just stick this in the trunk then?"  
"Thanks so much for helping me move all of these boxes. I don't know what happened to Jem." Louise flipped her phone open and dialled her fiancé's number one again, leaving yet another voicemail. Paul shrugged and carried the box down to Louise's Lexus, closely followed by the blonde. As he loaded up the trunk, his phone rang.  
"Oh, hi Mom." He said, rolling his eyes at his friend, "What's the matter? Your fuse has blown? Alright, I'll be right there." He turned to Louise apologetically, "I'm so sorry."  
"Don't worry," she smiled, "I'm sure your mum needs you more than I do. I'm sure Jem will be at his apartment. I'll see you tomorrow morning?"  
"I'll be waiting with your latte." He winked as she climbed into her car and waved at him. As his friend drove away, Paul frowned. He thought it strange that Jem didn't turn up to help Louise with her stuff on the day that they were meant to move in together. There had to be a reasonable explanation for his absence: traffic; dead phone battery. He still wasn't particularly fond of the guy but he made Lou happy, and as far as he was concerned, that was all that mattered.  
Louise happily drummed her fingers on the steering wheel to the tune of the radio as she wove through the back roads to her new apartment. No doubt the removal van was caught in traffic somewhere in the few blocks between her and Jem's apartment. She smiled widely as she pulled up outside the building and greeted the security guard, who tipped his hat to her. Louise called Jem on his phone again, and could hear the ringtone as she walked down the hallway.  
"That's odd", she murmured as she slid her key into the lock and walked into the apartment, throwing her stuff near the door. "Jem?" she called, wandering through the apartment. The air was filled with a sickly sweet perfume that she didn't recognise. A high pitched giggle came from behind the closed bedroom door and Louise's heart dropped. Her hands shook as she threw open the door. A squeal, a gasp. A skinny brunette. His secretary.  
"You have got to be kidding." She said, quietly while the offending girl slid further under the covers.  
"Louise!" Jem shouted, as she turned on her heel and stormed back through the apartment, "Louise, baby wait! It's not what you…."  
She rounded on him, struggling with the band of metal around her finger, "Save it Jem." With all the force she could muster, Louise chucked the ring at her fiancé. As she heard a satisfying yelp of pain she ran out of the door, scooping up her things as she did. She fought back the tears until she reached the car and slammed the door behind her. The tires spun beneath her, leaving a definite rubber burn in front of the building. She gripped the wheel tightly and could feel her nails digging into her palms. As familiar landmarks passed by, she pulled into a parking spot, not believing her luck. The bell above the door chimed as she walked into her favourite internet café and ordered a very strong coffee. Her hands flew across the keyboard of her laptop, as though she was not in control of them. A few minutes later, she emailed her letter of resignation to her boss and slipped back out of the café. She drove around the city for a few more hours, trying to compose herself. The back roads again and then a highway; signs blurred together and she didn't stop to register where she was headed.  
When her gas tank was threateningly low she pulled into the next gas station and switched her phone off. The constant ringing was irritating her. It was 1 am, wherever she was and she handed her credit card to the cashier.  
"Excuse me," she said, to the bored looking teenager, "Where am I?"  
He stared at her in disbelief, "You serious lady?"  
She folded her arms and glared, "Dead serious."  
He held his hands up in surrender, "You just crossed the South Carolina border. Would you like to buy a map?"  
She slipped the card out of the boy's hand, "No, thanks." Sitting in the darkness of her Lexus, she rubbed her eyes sleepily. "_Where the hell am I going?"_ she muttered to herself, massaging her temple as a headache seared across her head. She pulled an aspirin from her purse and swallowed it, leaning her head back before punching an address into the satnav. Turning the car around, she drove off into the night.

xxx

Grissom was sorting through his mail and smiled as he picked up a cream envelope, a familiar neat handwriting on the front. He leant back in his chair, slid his finger under the fold of paper and unfolded the letter inside. As he read through the letter, he smiled at the picture of his niece that he took on her last trip to Vegas. _"I have some really exciting news!" _Louise wrote and he could picture her grinning at her desk as she penned him the note, "_Jem and I are engaged! I can't wait for you to meet him. I'm sure you'll love him as much as I do."_ As he finished off the letter, his phone began to ring and he skimmed through the last few lines before answering.  
"Grissom?" He said, folding the letter up again.  
"Gil!" his sister screeched down the phone, "Louise is missing! She's not answering her phone and no one has seen her for two days!"  
Grissom sat up straight, reaching for Louise's photo, "Alright Amanda, where was the last time anyone saw her?" he soothed walking through the lab to Archie.  
"I don't know!" Amanda panicked, "She was supposed to move in with Jem, but he said she never arrived. Her car is gone and she quit her job."  
He scribbled down Louise's licence plate and asked Archie to start looking for it. "Have you issued a missing persons report?" He asked, calmly as he searched through Louise's credit records. It was clear that she was driving, as there were transactions at gas stations. He pointed then out to Archie, who immediately was searching for CCTV cameras at the stations. "Amanda, I want you to keep calm. I'll call Brass and have him put out an ATL on her and her car. Then I'll get hold of Mac Taylor in New York and get him to notify the news stations, see if anyone has seen anything."  
"Gil…" she stuttered, "What if something awful has happened to her?"  
Grissom replied sternly, "We're going to find her, Amanda. You can't afford to think like that." He tapped on the glass as Catherine walked past, gesturing for her to come in. "Don't worry Amanda. I'll have Taylor keep you informed." Catherine stared at the picture Archie was holding and frowned, "Isn't that Louise?" she muttered and Archie shrugged.  
"Who's Louise?"  
"Gil!" she turned as he dialled another number, "What's going on?"  
"Louise is missing." He said soberly, "I need you to call Brass, tell him to get her picture out there."  
Catherine whipped out her phone and paced up and down the corridor as she waited for Brass to answer. "C'mon Louise..." she muttered, "Where are you?"

Xxx

"And now," the emotionless voice of the news reporter echoed through the lab, "Police Departments across the entire country are asking for any information about the whereabouts of 23 year old Stanford graduate, Louise Carter. Louise was last seen in New York City four days ago and her family are appealing to anyone who knows where she might be."  
Grissom stared at the TV screen and grimaced. His pager buzzed and he ran into the AV Lab where a credit card transaction was flashing green. "Grissom, she's in Vegas!" Archie smiled, "Just checked into the Bellagio. I'll pull up the security footage and see if anyone was with her."  
Archie turned around and saw that he was speaking to an empty room, "Okay…" he muttered to himself, convinced that he was going mad. Grissom had meanwhile climbed into his car and was driving dangerously towards the centre of Las Vegas. The concierge backed up slightly as he marched up to the reception desk and demanded to know which room she had checked into.  
_"Why don't these elevators go any faster?" _ he thought angrily, tapping his foot impatiently. _Room 523! _He knocked persistently and breathed a sigh of relief as his tired looking niece opened the door.

xxx

"Then what's with all the boxes?" he asked, once she'd relayed her story.  
"I was moving in with him. I sold my New York apartment last week, so I quit my job and came out here." She explained, thinking about her terrible position at the NY Crime Lab. She was a qualified Level Two CSI, yet she was spending nights as a lab rat, processing DNA. All this so that she could spend time with her ex-fiancé, whose ring had already left a tan line on her finger. She replayed the fight in her mind, cringing at the screaming; the insults and hoping that she'd left a dent in his forehead when she lobbed the ring at him. She hadn't even taken the boxes from her car yet. She made a mental note to call her removal company and find out what happened to the rest of the boxes.  
"But what about your parents, Louise?" He sighed, "You didn't care to tell them that you were leaving."  
She drew her knees to my chest, "I haven't really been thinking straight the last few days," she admitted, "I just needed to get out of there as soon as possible."  
"Call them." He said softly, handing her the phone. She flipped it open, erasing the hundreds of missed calls, messages and voice mails, then pressed speed dial.  
"Louise!" Her mother's hysterical voice filled the speaker, "What happened? Where are you? Are you hurt? What is going on?"  
"Mom," She tried to interrupt her stream of questions, "Mom! I'm okay. I'm in Las Vegas; Uncle Gil's here." She calmly told her the story of her lying cheating ex and how she needed to get away. "I'm going to stay out here a few more days while I decide what to do. I'm not sure that I want to come back to the city."  
"We told you that it wasn't a good idea darling; we told you that you were too young."  
Louise sighed, "Mom, don't start."  
"Louise! You're 24 years old!" She continued, "You shouldn't throw your life away that quickly for some guy that you barely know."  
"Mom!" she almost shouted, "Can we not do this now please?"  
"Louise! You quit your job, call off your engagement and disappear for 4 days; I have every reason to be concerned." She started pacing up and down, listening to her mother rant.  
"Look Mom! I'm okay; I haven't been kidnapped and I just need some time to think." Louise sighed again, "I'll call you in a couple of days, alright? I love you."  
"I love you too baby," she replied, "Call us if you need anything."  
"Thanks Mom," she smiled and hung up, turning to her uncle. "New York wants you to call them, verify that you are with me and that I'm okay."  
He nodded, pulling out his own phone. "Right, Lou." He sighed as he stood up, "I have to get back to the lab. Call me in the morning and we'll go for breakfast, okay?"  
She agreed and he planted a kiss on his niece's forehead, "It's good to see you again sweetheart."  
As he left, Louise sank down against her bed, staring around her suite. There was a pile of five removal boxes in the corner of the room, the contents of which she had forgotten. She also had a small overnight bag and in the trunk of her car was her forensics kit. _I could stay. _She thought, as her forensics kit crossed her mind. _I could get a job in Vegas._ She frowned. Could she? Her bag only held a few days' worth of clothing and even if she could get her stuff shipped out here, she didn't have anywhere to put it. She picked up her phone again, digging in her purse for the business card from the removal company. There was no answer, so she left a message but a few moments later the company called her back.  
"Yes, Ms Carter, we can verify that your boxes were delivered and signed for by a Mr Jeremy Parker" the manager explained, "Is there a problem?"  
Louise groaned, "Would it be possible for you to deliver those same boxes to Vegas?" If her boxes were sitting in her ex- fiancé's apartment, there was no telling what state she would receive them in. "There has been a slight change of plan."  
Louise grabbed the hotel stationary from the dresser and told him the new address.  
He assured her that her delivery would be at the new address in five days and Louise breathed a sigh of relief as she hung up. She called her boss, Paul and then NYPD, just to be on the safe side. She had to keep herself busy, she decided confidently. If she stopped to think about Jem or their engagement, she would fall apart.  
"I am a strong, independent woman," the blonde muttered, "I will not let him destroy me." She repeated it to herself a few more times, then pulled herself up and stumbled towards the en-suite for a much needed shower.

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**Please leave me a review. I'd love to know what you think.**

**FC for Louise's character is Sasha Pieterse (she plays Alison in Pretty Little Liars)  
**

**xoxo  
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	3. Chapter 2 Graveyard

**All For Nothing****  
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**Chapter 2 – Graveyard**

A few days later, Louise was sat nervously in Conrad Ecklie's office as he read her resume thoroughly. "And what makes you think that you are right for this position, Ms Carter."  
"Look, Mr Ecklie, I know that you have been struggling to fill this spot for more than half a year and I am more than qualified for it. I left New York so that could do what I loved and this position is what I love."  
"I do not deny that you are qualified; this is a very impressive resume and you have a glowing letter of recommendation." He replied, defeated, "I shouldn't really permit this, as you are Gil's niece, but we have been short staffed for too long now. Very well, Ms Carter, you can start next shift"  
She stood up and shook his hand, "Thank you Mr Ecklie, I promise that you won't regret this."  
He gestured towards the door, "Shall we? I could give you a tour, introduce you to a few people."  
"Thanks for the offer, but I know this place well. Gil brought me here in Junior High, not much has changed since then." Louise smiled, not wanting to spend another moment with the cranky day shift dude.  
She walked swiftly down the familiar corridors to his office, where he was examining a jar of bugs. His collection had expanded since she last saw him.  
"Hey boss," She smiled as he looked up to see her standing in the doorway.  
He grinned, "Ecklie gave you the job?"  
Nodding, Louise pointed at the jar of bugs, "What's the deal with these guys?"  
"We found them on a severely decomp'd body in the desert, but they really shouldn't have been there." He explained, "They should only be found in Mexico."  
"Any chance that the body had been moved?" She asked, peering through the glass.  
"Autopsy revealed that the guy died where we found him." He replied, flicking through a text book.  
"Have you ID-ed the vic yet? Or any suspects?" The bugs crawled up the side of the container as she handed it back to him, "Maybe someone's been to Mexico recently."  
"That still doesn't explain how the bugs got there." He sighed, staring at the bugs once more.  
Louise shrugged, "You'll figure it out." She patted his shoulder, "I have an appointment with my realtor. I'll see you at the start of shift."

Ten houses later, Louise was tired of house hunting. Gil had looked over the list of available apartments that the realtor had emailed over and pointed out the ex-crime scenes. Nine of the ten were the site of homicides while the last was just as bad. Some old lady had recently been moved to a residential home and the apartment still smelt of cats and must.  
"I'm sorry Nathalie," she sighed to her estate agent, "It's just too dated for me."  
"That's alright Louise; I'll find another list for you." Nathalie crossed the last house off, "I take it that we will try to keep old crime scenes off the cards then."  
"Yes please," Louise said, checking her watch, "Unfortunately, a coat of paint can't hide the blood stains."  
"I'll let you know when I have some more properties for you." Nathalie's phone rang, "I'm sorry. I need to take this."  
Louise nodded, climbing into her car as she waved goodbye. There was just enough time to grab a coffee before she hit the graveyard shift. Her feet were aching from walking about in heeled boots all day, so she was glad that she had dropped her CSI stuff in her locker before she left the lab. The caffeine shocked her system into believing that she wasn't exhausted and she pulled up outside the lab feeling slightly more awake.  
"Louise Carter!" she heard from behind her, as she got out of the car. She jumped and spun around to see Catherine Willows walking towards her. Louise smiled broadly.  
"Now there's a name I never thought I'd see on the shift rota." She smiled, holding her at arm's length. "You've grown up so much, darling."  
"It's good to see you Catherine!" Louise replied, smiling at the lady who'd welcomed her all those years ago.  
"You had us worried for a minute there." Catherine said, as the two women walked into the lab.  
Louise grimaced, "I'm sorry about that. I hadn't even thought about how I was supposed to meet my parents for dinner."  
Catherine smiled at her sympathetically, "How long had you been engaged?"  
"Almost 3 months, but I've been…" she paused, the reality of the end of her relationship felt like a stake stabbed into her chest, "I had been with Jem since my sophomore year."  
The red head wished she hadn't mentioned it, as she watched Louise's face fall, "Well, welcome to the graveyard shift," Catherine said cheerfully, "You ready for a long night?"  
Louise grinned, "As I'll ever be."  
Catherine pointed out the locker room, "And the break room is just around the corner. I'll see you in there."  
The blonde thanked her guide and slipped into the locker room, consulting the slip of paper that she'd been given to locate her locker.

"Blonde, leather-clad and hot." Louise heard from the door way, "You must be the new girl."  
She smiled at the young guy leaning against the doorframe and blushed, "And you must be the infamous Stanford Boy." she held her hand out, "Louise Carter."  
"Greg Sanders," he replied, "How did you know I was from Stanford?"  
"I graduated Omega Chi Delta a few years ago. I remember your name from the Phi Beta Kappa '_wall of success'_." She said dramatically, forming quotation marks with her fingers.  
"Really?" He looked surprised.  
Louise laughed, "You were the only one with science major on the entire list."  
"Yeah, I'm afraid despite its reputation for a frat house of science geeks, none of them actually majored in anything. I dated a couple of OCD's in my time" He flirted, as she shrugged her leather jacket off.  
"In your time?" she scoffed, "I'm afraid '_our times'_ overlapped. I graduated in 2000."  
He looked surprised, "We were in the same Greek system for two years and I never met you?"  
"I think we took a criminology lecture together. I vaguely remember the geeky hair." Louise smiled, "And by the way, Omega Chi Delta's find that acronym extremely offensive."  
"My apologies." He smiled, "So what are you doing in Vegas?"  
"You don't even want to_ know_ the nicknames that we had for you boys." Louise smirked, while avoiding the question.  
Sara walked in, "Greg, when you're quite finished flirting with the new girl. Get moving." She turned to Louise, "Sara Sidle, it's nice to meet you."  
She raised an eyebrow and Sara shook her head slightly, "Louise Carter, I'm Grissom's niece."  
Louise figured the introductions were just for show; she knew that inter-team relationships were against lab policy. The young women turned at the clatter from the corner, where Greg had knocked some stuff from his locker and they laughed together.  
"Grissom's… niece?" He coughed, shaking his head. "This world is far too small."  
"Greg." Snapped Sara, "Get moving!"  
Louise quickly changed her shoes and followed Sara, where Catherine was waiting with some other guys. "Hey Louise," she smiled from her spot next to the coffee machine. "Guys, this is Louise Carter, Grissom's niece" She pointed to the two guys, "Nick Stokes and Warrick Brown."  
She smiled at the two new faces, "Nice to meet you both."  
Gil walked in, clutching a stack of cases and a box. "Nick, Warrick. There's a rape case out on the strip. Take Louise with you." she smiled as he threw the box to her, "Your pager. Ask one of the boys to set it up for you."  
"Sara, Catherine, you're with me. 419 in the middle of nowhere." He grimaced, showing Catherine the paper.  
"Gris," Catherine started, "Are you sure a rape case is appropriate…"  
Louise interrupted, "It's no problem, don't worry."  
"If you're sure…" she said, her motherly nature kicking in.  
"Thanks for the concern, Catherine. I'll be fine." she smiled reassuringly, as she followed Warrick and Nick to the car.  
"You ready, newbie?" Nick asked as Warrick started the car.  
Louise laughed, "I've been doing this for 2 years already Nick; I'm raring to go. Although, I'm going to need help with the pager." She handed him the box over the seat and he laughed as she flashed him a grateful smile.  
"Gris said that you were a computer Whizz," he smiled, "How come you picked forensics? And why can't you programme a pager?"  
She laughed again, "When you're related the Gil, there aren't many options other than forensics, particularly when he's been shoving entomology down your throat since grade school. And I've blown up three pagers in the last year. I'm hopeless with the small beepie things."  
Nick entertained them with pager rings until Warrick threatened to throw it out the window, when he handed it back to her. "You're going to have to learn everyone's pager codes."  
Louise held up a sheet of numbers which had been attached to the box, "Already done."  
Warrick raised his eyebrow in the review mirror so she explained, "Photographic memory. My uncle has been training me for a very long time."  
The pair of them shook their heads in disbelief. "We always wondered about Gris. He doesn't seem like a family man."  
She shook her head, "You're not supposed to have favourites. But try telling that to him. I was the only one in my family destined for anything scientific."  
The Denali pulled up outside the crime scene, a casino on the strip near to where Louise was staying. Brass met them at the tape, "They just found her. Medics have been in and I managed to grab a few pictures before they moved her. " He turned to Louise, "I'm Jim Brass."  
She extended her hand, "Louise Carter, it's nice to finally meet you. How is she?"  
"She's a little disoriented, but her injuries aren't majorly traumatic… we haven't got an ID."  
Warrick and Nick exchanged glances, captivated by their new colleague. "And she's hot!" Nick muttered under his breath."  
Louise appeared next to him, "And she can hear you." She winked at them and they paused as the victim was wheeled past.  
"Louise? Do you want to go with the vic and collect the SAE kit?" Warrick asked, "Brass can give you a ride."  
Louise smiled in response before turning back to the captain, "I'll ride with the vic, if that's okay?" Brass watched as the blonde ran after the medics, her curls bouncing against her neck and catching the lights of the strip. He couldn't help but smile; the young girl was charming.

Louise slid her hand into the victim's and smiled as her eyes fluttered open, filled with tears, "Hey sweetheart, my name is Louise; I'm with the Crime Lab. Could you tell me your name?" The medic started, surprised at the soft, soothing tone of the CSI. Louise leant her ear closer to the victim and caught the whisper before the young girl became hysterical, "Jenny"  
"Jenny, everything is going to be alright. We're going to take good care of you, I promise." The medic placed a hand on Louise's shoulder, "Her heartbeat is far too quick; she needs to calm down."  
Louise nodded, whispering to the victim again, "Jenny. I need you to stay calm for me, darling."  
Her kind words appeared to soothe the victim although her tears continued to flow. She held her gaze until the medic slid a needle into her arm, sedating her.

The ambulance pulled up at Desert Palms and she was immediately carted off to a ward; Louise had to run to keep up with her victim. The nurses worked quickly to ensure that Jenny had no life threatening injuries before drawing the curtain around her. Louise approached one of them, "I'm going to have to document her injuries and ask her a few questions. Will you let me know when the sedatives wear off?"  
"I think she's coming round," she replied, "You can probably see her now."  
Louise nodded, and slowly slipped through the curtain. Jenny was staring at her with blank eyes, still in shock about her attack. "Hi Jenny, do you remember me?" she asked softly.  
The girl in the bed nodded slightly and Louise moved closer. "Now, I'm going to have to take pictures of your injuries, alright? And then I need to collect some evidence from you, so that we can catch the guy who did this."  
Jenny nodded again and Louise pulled her camera out, documenting the various cuts and bruises. Tears filled the girl's eyes again as Louise collected the SAE kit and the blonde fought back her emotions. She bagged all of Jenny's clothing and set her kit on the side.  
"Jenny?" she prompted, "Do you remember what happened?"  
The girl nodded, but didn't say anything, "Do you know who did this to you?" she shook her head.  
"Could you recognise him, do you think?" she paused before nodding.  
Louise squeezed her hand, "I'm going to send a lady here and she's going to try and draw the man for you, okay?"  
"It was dark," the girl stuttered, "I only saw his face... he was wearing gloves…"  
Louise nodded, "Okay. That's good darling. Is there anyone that we can call for you?"  
"Mum…" she muttered.

Louise waited until Jenny's mother had arrived before heading back to the lab. Jenny had clammed up after her mother got there and she called Warrick as she walked through the hospital.  
"Hey, Blondie!" he answered the phone happily, "we're just finishing up here. How'd it go with the vic?"  
"Well, she didn't say much. Although she did tell me that the guy wore gloves." Warrick drew his breath, "No prints?"  
"Nothing. We'll pick you up from the hospital on our way back to the lab."  
"Thanks." She clicked the phone closed and walked down to the hotel entrance. She only had to wait a few minutes before the Denali rolled up and she slid into the front seat. "Find anything useful?"  
The pair shook their heads, "Absolutely nothing. No prints, no trace, no smears. This guy knows what he's doing."  
"Well, she said that her attacker was wearing gloves so that accounts for the lack of prints, but no trace? That's insane." The blonde sighed, "Hopefully the SAE kit gives us something."  
"Did she say anything about her attacker?" Nick asked, leaning forward between the seats.  
Louise shrugged, "No description. But I'm going to get her to speak to the forensics artist; she said that she would be able to recognise him."  
"At least we've got something."  
She glared at him, "Don't jinx it."

"Greg," Louise walked into the trace lab frowning, "Why did you page me?"  
He pulled a sheet from the printer and rolled his chair over to her, "I've got the results from under your vic's fingernails."  
"Why do you have those? I gave them to DNA." she took the print out from him and skimmed over it.  
"DNA kicked them over to me, no epithelials." He tapped the page, "I did find traces of latex, the kind that's used in our good ol' trusty gloves. Unfortunately, there are about 300 distributers in the greater Las Vegas area alone." Louise groaned. "Sorry."  
"Okay… Thanks." She caught up to Nick and Warrick as they walked past, "Hey… There was no DNA left by this guy and trace only came back with generic latex gloves. I'm going to go back over all of her clothing and see if I can get anything."  
Warrick pointed to the AV lab, "Archie is going over the security footage that the casino sent over, but he's come up with nothing so far."  
"I'm heading over to the hospital to meet the artist," Nick said, "I'll keep you both posted."

About an hour later, Louise's phone rang, "Hey Nick, any luck with the forensics artist?"  
"We got a pretty good image of the guy; the vic went hysterical when we showed it to her." He replied, "Did you find anything on the clothing?"  
"No and Warrick came up empty on the casino footage." Louise frowned, "I think this guy is going to get away."  
Louise could hear the tone of agreement hidden in the Texas drawl, "Don't think like that, okay Louise? We'll catch this bastard, before he strikes again."  
Warrick paged her from the AV lab and she kept Nick on the phone as she went next door. "Nick, I think we've got something. Meet me back at the casino." She stared at the footage of a guy, shielding himself from the camera as he chucked a bag in the dumpster outside the service entrance.

"Hello DNA" she muttered, pulling the trash bag from under an empty cardboard box. Carefully untying the loose knot, she revealed a pair of latex gloves and a condom amongst a few paper napkins and handed the bag to Nick, who smirked.  
"Nice job, blondie." He bagged the evidence and helped her out of the dumpster.  
She shrugged, "I just went dumpster diving, we still need to run DNA."  
"Maybe we'll get lucky." Nick said brightly.

Louise twitched impatiently as she waited in front of the printer with Greg and Nick breathing over her shoulder. She snatched the printout and stared at it in disbelief, "What was that you were saying about getting lucky?" She sighed, handing the results to Nick. Having managed to lift a perfect fingerprint from the bag and a load of DNA from the gloves and the condom, she was so frustrated at still having no identity for this guy. "This is ridiculous," she murmured as she walking quickly out of the DNA Trace lab and towards the break room, where the poured herself a cup of coffee and buried her head in her hands. The sofa creaked as someone sat next to her, touching her shoulder reassuringly. She looked up to see Nick perched beside her and Warrick leaning against the door.  
"Are you okay?" he asked softly.  
She pursed her lips, "I don't know. It's just… so annoying that we have nothing on this guy. I wanted to make a good impression, prove that I am a good CSI. Prove that I didn't just get this job because I'm Grissom's niece. I can't even solve my first case."  
Warrick shook his head, "Louise, no one believes that. We can all see that you are an amazing CSI. The way you handled the victim, you don't see those sorts of people skills in our line of work."  
Nick chimed in, "And just because we haven't got this guy now, doesn't mean that we won't get him."  
A small smile crept to the blonde's lips, "Thanks." She paused, taking a gulp of her coffee and gagging, "God that stuff is awful!"  
Both men laughed, "That's why we steal Greg's fancy stuff." They pointed to the pot on the other side of the room.  
She tipped the rest of her cup down the sink, "Let's go catch some bad guys."

* * *

**A.N. It makes me very sad that no one wants to review even a _tiny_ bit. I genuinely want to know what my readers think of my OC, this fic and my writing style. It would mean the world to me if you reviewed. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but this part of the story is set around Season Three and I plan to keep going all the way to Season 12. September 26th could not come fast enough for me.**

**In other news ERIC SZMANDA tweeted me! And Louise Lombard followed me... ON THE SAME DAY!  
**

**:D xx  
**


	4. Chapter 3 Jelly Beans

**All For Nothing**

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Jelly Beans**

Louise, Warrick and Nick all stood around the table in the layout room, various evidence bags and photographs spread in front of them. After much persuasion and a double shift, Louise had gone back to the hotel for a few hours to rest but after staring at the ceiling for what seemed like far too long, she gave up trying to sleep. She found herself back at the lab, re-examining her evidence and trying to piece together the puzzle.  
"Look Louise," Nick yawned, as he and Warrick joined her at the table, "I know that you want to catch this guy but this is getting slightly ridiculous. You won't put any bad guys behind bars on caffeine and 3 hours sleep."  
Louise shrugged, "I just needed to look at everything from a different angle. Try and understand this guy."  
Warrick leaned forward, eyebrows raised, "How's that working for you?"  
"Well, this guy is cocky." She said, "He's leaving us a DNA trail, but not enough to ID him. He knows that he's not in any database. I've had Archie run him through facial recognition but so far nothing."  
Nick folded his arms, "So where do we go from here?"  
"Brass is getting his picture out there, seeing if anyone recognises him and patrol are keeping an eye out for him; in case he tries to skip town." Louise sighed, "But that's all we have to go on at the moment."  
Nick and Warrick exchanged a look, "So, we leave it open? See if he strikes again?"  
She glared at them, "Look, I don't want him to strike again; you saw how broken Jenny was. How can we let him do that to another woman?"  
"Louise. We've hit a dead end." Nick said, frankly, "You did well, but we're not going to catch him this time." He placed his hand on hers. "We will get him. I promise."  
Sighing, she nodded and began putting all her evidence back into the box. She paused at a picture of the victim, "And what about Jenny? What do we tell her?"  
Neither man could answer her and she walked out without saying another word.

Grissom sat next to Louise on the bench in the centre of the locker room sliding a small bag of jelly beans into her palm. She chuckled, turning to him with a small smile, "You never cease to amaze me. Jelly Beans?"  
"Well it worked when you were little." He grinned, taking in her sad eyes and fallen expression.  
She shook her head, laughing quietly, "Not since I was about 10 years old." She opened the bag anyway, picking out the green one and then offering a sweet to her uncle.  
"We all have cases that we just can't solve, Louise." He said solemnly, "But for every one that gets away, you'll put a couple of bad guys where they belong. All it takes is a little perspective."  
Louise sat in silence for a few minutes, "Did you solve your first?" she asked in a small voice.  
Grissom frowned, "I don't even remember my first case."  
She raised her eyebrow, "Of course you do. You never forget your first." He didn't reply, just stared at her. Standing up, she popped another Jelly Bean in her mouth, before sliding them in the pocket of her field vest. "Catherine is waiting for me. Thanks for the Jelly Beans." She leant down, planting a light kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you later."  
Grissom watched her as she left the locker room and then smiled to himself, "I trained her well."

Xx

"Okay!" Louise shouted, over the roar of engines as Nick and Catherine lined up on the airstrip, both wearing identical competitive expressions. She raised her hand, "One!"  
"Just try to keep up," Catherine taunted through the open window to Nick who childishly stuck his tongue out at her.  
"Two." Louise made sure that she was positioned directly between the cars.  
"Three!" She dropped her hand and spun around, watching as the cars sped past her, whipping her blonde hair around her face. She squinted into the sunset as Nick and Catherine drove further down the track, gaining speed. When she heard the alarm of Nick's car go off, she started jogging down the stretch after them, laughing as Catherine stomped on the pedal, screeching ahead of Nick.  
"Thank you." She said as she got out of the car, waving her hair out of the helmet, "Good Night!"  
Nick leant up against the door, as Louise caught up, "I vote we have a rematch."  
Both woman laughed, "Nicky," Catherine sighed, patting his shoulder, "We're working."  
"Whatever…" he grumbled.

"Okay." Catherine said, as they climbed back into the CSI Tahoe, "I'll call Brass and have him bring Tony del Nagro in. You want in on the interrogation, Louise?"  
The blonde shook her hair, still trying to comb the wind swept knots into submission, "I'll just watch this one if that's alright."  
"Sure thing," Catherine replied, digging in the cubby hole for something, "Here, try this." She handed a comb over the seats and Louise slicked her hair back into a bun, tendrils slipping through the hair band and framing her face.  
Nick watched her in the rear view mirror, astounded that anyone could ever cheat on such a stunning young woman. He continued to watch as Louise dropped her gaze from out the windscreen to her hands, where she rubbed her ring finger self-consciously. She shook herself out of the day dream and turned her attention back to Catherine, who was on the phone to Brass.

Xx

"Hey Louise?," Nick asked as he pulled his shirt over his head, shoving it into his locker and pulling out a slightly cleaner and less wrinkled one, "Are you busy this evening?"  
She smoothed down her dress as she stood up, slightly shocked by the question, "Um, no. Why?"  
"Do you want to get a drink or something?" He shut his locker and smiled at her.  
She returned the smile, picking up her handbag, "I'd like that."

Louise sipped at her drink, winding her finger around the glass nervously, still distracted by the ever present engagement ring tan line. "So what is the deal with this ex-fiancé?" Nick asked carefully, after noticing her attention wonder for a third time since they sat down.  
"There's not much to tell," She sighed, "I'm assuming that you're looking for a more specific answer than he was a complete asshole." He noticed how she ran her finger across the rings tan line and waited for her to continue.  
"I met him in my sophomore year of college and he literally swept me off my feet. He seemed like such a Prince Charming but I was stupid and blinded by love." She shook her head as she realised how ridiculous she sounded, "I guess this was the time to screw up everything. Better now than 3 or 4 years down the line, married to him and having to go through a messy divorce. Sometimes I wonder what I did wrong."

"Hey…" he said in his soft, reassuring Texan drawl, "You didn't do anything wrong."  
She lifted her head, "You think?"  
"I know." He replied, smiling lightly, "Clearly the guy was too stupid to see how awesome you are."  
Louise smiled, blushing, "Awesome is not the word that people generally tend to go for. Usually more along the lines of weird."  
"You're related to Grissom… Awesome is synonymous with weird in his world." He winked, causing her to laugh. He watched her again, as she relaxed, taking a sip of her wine, looking around the bar.  
"You know…" he tested, "I think that Greg has a thing for you."  
"Greg? As in lab guy Greg?" she laughed, "I highly doubt it. I think he's just grateful for the Stanford PanHellenic company."  
Nick wrinkled his brow, "You know him from college?"  
She shook her head, "No, we travelled in slightly different circles. We were only in the same Greek system for a couple of years. Trust me, with the Stanford Greek alumni, you don't ever get to meet everyone."  
"Still…" he teased.  
She rolled her eyes, "Suuure…."

Xxx

A few nights later, Louise got a page from Greg as she walked past his station. "Could you not just call me in?" She asked as she walked in.  
"Paging is more fun. And it's funny to see you struggle with that thing." He laughed  
She shook her head, "You are so mean. Have you managed to ID my vic?"  
"Nope. Absolutely nothing. But, do you remember your first case? The rape where there was literally no evidence but the guy's DNA."  
"How could I forget it?" Louise had been so frustrated at being unable to solve her first case.  
He grinned, "Get this, Sara just asked me to match the DNA of some guy for a robbery in Meadville and it came up on CODIS as your guy. So I ran the DNA from the rape case and compared it to this guy. It's a match."  
Her jaw dropped and she grabbed the paper from his hand. "Oh my god. You are amazing!" He looked incredibly pleased with himself. He handed her the mug shot of the robbery suspect and she frowned. "Could you pull up the artist's picture of the guy?" She stared at the picture for a minute and put her hand on top of his on the mouse. He turned to her and their eyes locked for a moment. "Um… Greg." She said, feeling guilty. "Could I have the mouse?" He slid his hand out from under hers, "Sorry." She quickly dragged the mouse across the screen, shaving off their guy's moustache and giving him a haircut. The edits matched the guy in the photo that she was holding. "You've got him" Greg breathed. On impulse, she kissed his cheek. "I actually love you right now." He looked shocked so she quickly ran out, looking for Nick and Warrick.  
"We've got a suspect!" she shouted happily as she ran into the break room. "Remember that rape case we got six weeks ago? The one from my first night?"  
They both nodded slowly, "We find the guy?"  
"Yeah, his DNA matches a Jason Donovan that Sara just brought in for a car robbery. I've just called her and Greg is faxing her the details. " she said, excitedly.  
"Nice job, Louise!" Warrick smiled, "You want to ride to PD?"  
"Please!" she said, grabbing her jacket from the back of a chair.

Louise scrolled down her phone book as the officer led Jason Donavan away, looking for the number that she'd kept; just in case. He'd confessed to both crimes, as well as hinting at planning a few more hits on innocent casino goers. Louise felt a twinge of pride as he passed her, glaring daggers at her. Warrick smiled as she practically danced down the halls of PD, dialling a number on her cell phone.  
"Jenny?" she said, smiling, "It's Louise Carter, from the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I have some good news." She paused, then confirmed what Warrick suspected was the victims response. "We got him, sweetheart. He confessed to everything."

She knocked on Grissom's door and he set down his bug book, "I hear that you closed your rape case."  
"This is why I love this job," she replied, grinning. Nick walked in behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Told you we'd get him Lou…"  
She winked in reply, smiled at her uncle and then walked from the office towards the locker room. Both men watched her go. "She really is something, isn't she?" Nick said, turning back to Grissom.  
"Don't _even_ think about it Nick." He said, sternly, protective of his niece.  
Nick shook his head, "Grissom. You know I wouldn't."  
He smiled, "I know. I just had to make sure."  
They then watched as Greg walked quickly after her, smoothing down his hair as he did. They exchanged a look and chuckled.

xxx

"Hey Louise," Greg popped his head into the locker room, "You done for the day?"  
Louise smiled, "Yeah, I have an appointment with my realtor. This would be apartment number 34."  
"Are you still living in the hotel? You've been here 2 months already." He sat down on the bench next to her, "If you need a place to stay…"  
"Oh, no, it's no problem. Gil's already offered. I'm just very picky when it comes to apartments." Grimacing, she slipped her jacket on, "Actually, is there a single residence in this town that isn't an old crime scene?"  
He chuckled, "Probably not likely. Well, I'm about to get off so I could come house hunting with you, if you'd like?"  
"I'm sure you have better things to do than traipse around Las Vegas all morning, like sleep perhaps?" she joked, as he stifled a yawn.  
He bumped her shoulder, "C'mon, I know this place well and you could use an expert opinion."  
"Expert opinion?" she raised her eyebrow as she got up, staring down at him, "Alright then, I could use the company. You might want to bring supplies though."  
He thought she was joking, but stopped laughing as he saw the seriousness in her expression.  
"You know" she smirked, "It's not too late to back out."

Xx

"You weren't joking about those supplies," he whined, as Nathalie showed them around the fifth apartment. Louise's face lit up as she walked through the property, touching the wooden finishing in the kitchen and smiling at the small balcony. Greg looked around. It was a tiny apartment, but it was fairly new and he could see Louise living there. It had only three rooms and a small bathroom, but for some reason housed an enormous walk in closet. "Do you really need that?" He muttered, as Louise became more and more excited by the apartment.  
"Greg, I'm a Omega Chi Delta girl… Of course I do." She laughed as he rolled his eyes.  
"And another bonus," he added, after the realtor explained the financing and various other benefits of the building, "This one has definitely not been a crime scene."  
Louise looked around beaming, "I'll take it." She looked ecstatic as she signed the papers and handed over the deposit check.  
"I love it…" she whispered to Greg, grinning through her hands.  
Greg smiled, "I can see that." He didn't know what it was about this girl that was so captivating… but he sure as hell found himself drawn to the blonde and he wasn't about to let her slip away.

* * *

**A.N. Hey guys! Another chapter up... I am so excited for this story and I keep getting more and more awesome ideas that I can't wait to get down! I would like to apologise for how rushed Louise's entrance has been, but I promise that it will get much better and all will be revealed!**

**Secondly, if any of my lovely readers are on Tumblr and interested, I have a blog dedicated to this fic ( .com), which I will update when I'm working on new chapters and of course, where I will post the all important 'killer wardrobe'. Any questions, please head over there.  
**

**Thirdly, if you're enjoying this story... please please please review and if you hate it and are thinking "What the hell is she writing?", let me know and I will do my very best to fix that.  
**

**I love you all to Pluto and back!  
**

**~Carley Idonea...  
**


	5. Chapter 4 Red Rose Surprises

**All For Nothing**

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Red Rose Surprises.**

„Oh my god, Louise" Greg panted as he heaved a box up the stairs. She danced up lightly in front of him, carrying a much lighter box, "How many boxes do you have?"  
She read the label on the top of his box over her shoulder, "Well, 56. Plus some furniture. And you do have a book box."  
He tilted the box so he could see, "Damn… I knew I should've picked the other one."  
"C'mon Greg," she called, "There is only one flight of stairs left."  
He groaned as he hauled it up to her apartment, dumping it in the centre of the room. "Okay. I need a break now."  
Louise laughed, setting her box next to his, before making her way back towards the door, "Weakling," she taunted.  
Greg chased after her, "That's not very nice, is it?"  
Three hours later, they had carried up all 56 boxes, a sofa and a bookcase. Greg collapsed onto the sofa, "That is it!" he declared, "I'm done. No more carrying!" He wiped his forehead dramatically, fanning himself with him hand.  
Louise, however, settled herself on the floor and pulled the nearest box towards her. "Lucky for you, there is nothing else to carry." She slit the tape and revealed stacks of neatly piled books, "You could do me a favour and stick all the books on the shelf."  
He pulled himself up, dragging himself towards her, "Any particular order?"  
She smiled, "Alphabetised by author, please. I put them in the box in reverse order, so it shouldn't be too difficult. I'll be in the wardrobe if you need me."  
He shook his head, muttering under his breath, "Which one?" He hadn't noticed when they were apartment hunting, but Louise's new bedroom had not one but TWO walk in wardrobes, one on either side of the bedroom. He had just assumed the other door was an office, or en suite bathroom, as he looked around the apartment, he realised just how unobservant he had been the first time around. It seemed a lot bigger now, and there was a sliding door into an office, which he had mistaken for a wall. He now understood why Louise had loved this apartment so much; a shoe wardrobe and a clothing wardrobe. Chuckling under his breath, Greg started placing the books on the shelf. _Guess you can never take the sisterhood away from an Omega Chi Delta._

Louise walked back into the living room and picked up a kitchen box. Greg was still unpacking books, "You have so many books!" he exclaimed, looking at the series of bookshelves twisting around the apartment. She shrugged, giggling.  
Greg raised an eyebrow. "You are really strange, you know that?"  
She turned around smiling, "I've been told that a couple of times." She winked before turning back to the kitchen. "You want a glass of vino?"  
"Sounds like a good idea," he replied, placing the last couple of books on the shelf.  
"I'm afraid you might have to live with a plastic cup," Louise called out into the living room, opening another box as she searched for a pair of wine glasses, "Hold on! Found them."  
She unwrapped the bubble wrap, happily bursting a few of the bubbles before pouring a glass of red wine for herself and Greg. Carefully, she carried them to the sofa and handed one to Greg, as she sat down next to him, curling her feet underneath her. Resting her arm against the back of the sofa, she absentmindedly twisted a stray tendril behind her ear. She smiled lightly at him, watching him closely. "I can't believe it's been two months already."  
He raised his eyebrow, "Two months? It feels like you've been here for years."  
"Wow, Greg." She smirked, "Are you sick of me already?" She feigned offense and Greg squirmed to escape from the hole he was digging for himself.  
"No, that's not what I meant…" he stuttered, "It's just… you're…"  
"Greg. I'm kidding." She said, giggling.  
He blushed before laughing with her.  
"So…" she smiled, "Stanford?"  
"So…" he repeated, "Stanford?"  
"Touché."  
"I'm slightly confused though." He frowned, "You're, what… Twenty Four? Yet you graduated in 2000 and have been a CSI for two years. It doesn't add up."  
"Twenty Three… thank you very much." Louise grinned, "It's slightly complicated. I guess the best way to explain it would be… Grissom."  
"Ahhh… So would that make you the bug girl?" He smirked.  
She shook her head, "I didn't really specialise, given that I was fast tracked through college."  
"I guess that makes you super smart then?"  
Louise shrugged, "I wouldn't say' super smart'… more like brainwashed into forensics."  
"So you don't enjoy it then?"  
"Are you kidding? I love it… I couldn't imagine doing anything BUT forensics. Besides, the gun is a great prop." She joked, still twirling that stray tendril.

xxx

Greg stared into her eyes for a moment, enchanted by the electric blue, before dropping his gaze to her lips. He cautiously placed one hand on her knee, sliding closer towards her, cupping her cheek with the other hand. His lips hovered above hers for a moment; he could feel her breath, short and nervous.

An angry knocking at the door interrupted Greg, as he tried to close the gap between them. Louise let out a frustrated sigh, her eyes still closed, savouring the moment. "I'm sorry…" she breathed, slipping from the sofa towards the door. Her eyes widened as she threw open the door to the person she least wanted to see in that moment. The fact that he was clutching a bouquet of red roses didn't make her feel any better.

"Jem?"

* * *

**A.N.**

**I have two very important apologies for all my lovely readers. Firstly, I am sooooooooo sorry for not updating this story for centuries. Since I went back to school I have had virtually no time whatsoever but I am working on time management so hopefully I can spend more time writing. Secondly, apologies for this extremely short and rather pathetic chapter. I've got amazing ideas for this fic, but its just getting there that is the problem (as always). Anyway, thanks for sticking with me and hopefully you enjoy this story.****  
**

**Also... Jem's back! How much drama is he going to cause, do you think?  
**

**Love always... CI xxx  
**


	6. Chapter 5 Unwanted Affection

**All For Nothing**

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Unwanted Affection.**

Louise stood frozen in the doorway; her mouth gaping slightly. "Jem, what are you doing here?"  
She heard the sofa creak behind her as Greg got up and Jem gestured to the apartment, "May I come in?" Without waiting for an answer he slid past her and stood facing Greg, sizing him up.  
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, not sorry at all, "Am I interrupting something?"  
Louise looked at Greg apologetically, "Greg was just helping me unpack."  
"I was just about to leave actually," Greg glared at Jem as he walked towards the door. Louise followed him to the door and he murmured to her, "If he gives you any grief, call me."  
She nodded, still shell shocked by the presence of her ex-fiancé. "I'll see you later." He added, as she closed the door behind him. As she turned back to her unwanted guest, she found him settled on her sofa, in the same spot that Greg had been sitting moments before.  
"Jem, what are you doing here?" she repeated, pacing up and down anxiously.  
He stood up, holding out the roses, "Am I not allowed to see my fiancé?"  
She ignored the roses and glared angrily into his face, "In case that dent in your forehead isn't clear enough, I am your ex-fiancé."  
He set the roses down on the coffee table and tried to take her hand, "I miss you, Lou-bear. We never got to talk."  
"Talk about what?" She shouted, wrenching her hand from his grasp, "You were the one who cheated, Jem."  
His face fell, but Louise didn't believe him. "I'm so sorry, Lou-bear. It was a one-time thing."  
"You know, your lies may work for the cops but you sure as hell don't fool me. What was that about anyway? You 'hadn't seen me'?" she drew quotation marks to stress her anger. "You really can't own up to anything, can you?"  
"I don't know what you're…." he began.  
"Of course you do, you bastard!" she screamed, "You told NYPD that I hadn't arrived at your apartment!"  
"What was I supposed to tell them?" he yelled in return, "How does it make a difference whether you were at my apartment or not?"  
"And you call yourself a CSI?" she scoffed, "Just get out of my apartment."  
She stormed back across the living room and held open the door. He followed reluctantly.  
"I'm not leaving Vegas until I have you back, Lou-bear." He said as she shut the door in his face, "You hear that? I'm not leaving!"  
"You'll be here for a damn long time then, Jem." She yelled at the closed door.

She collapsed onto the sofa and downed her unfinished glass of wine to calm down. Pulling her legs up, she buried her head in her knees and before she could stop herself, her cheeks became wet with tears. Two months of anger and betrayal had built up and were flowing from her eyes. She had loved Jem; that's why she was going to get married to him. She hadn't realised that, in her quick acceptance into the Vegas family and being charmed by Nick, Warrick and Greg, she hadn't allowed herself time to get over Jem. Having him stand in front of her, begging for her to take him back, had poured salt on an open wound and it stung. She raised her head with a jolt as she remembered Greg. He had been so close to kissing her, and she wanted him to kiss her. _But, Jem._ Even though she didn't want to be, and had no intention of taking him back, she was still in love with Jem. Six years was a long time to be with someone, and Jem had picked the pieces back up after _that_ incident. He had been Prince Charming and she'd fallen for it. Six years of commitment shattered because Jem was a selfish, arrogant arse. Louise groaned as her alarm blared, sitting up on the sofa. She'd cried herself to sleep and was now running _**VERY**_ late.  
"Shit…." She murmured, as she stubbed her toe on a box. Her phone was ringing loudly as she ran out, stopping only to ensure that the door was locked. "Yeah, Carter." She answered the phone while fumbling with her keys.  
"Hey Lou-bear." She heard Jem croon down the phone. "You're running a little late; do you want me to drive you to work like the old days?"  
She hit the end call button without saying a word and immediately dialed Greg's number. "Are you okay, Louise?" he asked, as soon as he picked up his phone.  
"Have you got to the lab yet?" she sighed, punching the elevator button angrily.  
"Nope, I've just crossed Madison and Flamingo."  
She breathed a sigh of relief, "Could you swing by my apartment and pick me up? I think Jem is hanging around outside."  
"Sure. I'll drive by the back entrance."  
"You're a life saver," she muttered to the lab tech, "I'll see you in a few."  
The ride in the elevator cart gave Louise exactly a minute and a half to fix her hair and makeup and by the time she pushed open the back door of the apartment building, Greg had pulled up in his bright red sedan. She slumped back in the passenger seat and took a deep breath.  
"Louise?" Greg asked, carefully, reaching out across the car and taking her hand.  
"I'm fine." She breathed, staring at the road in front of them, trying to keep her composure. "Let's just go, we're late."

Xx

Louise and Sara carried evidence bags in from their scene that morning and Judie signaled to Louise as they passed her in reception. "Someone delivered some flowers for you, Ms Carter."  
"Bin them." Louise replied emotionlessly, dumping the evidence boxes in the layout room and walking into Grissom's office. "Jem's back."  
He looked up from his new tarantula frowning and watched as Louise collapsed into the chair opposite his.  
"He turned up at the apartment last night and he sent flowers here this morning. He even has my new cell phone number. He wants me to take him back."  
"Lou," Grissom surveyed her over his glasses, "Sometimes you need to address the problem instead of running away."  
"I'm not running…" she stopped as he raised his eyebrow, "Okay… Maybe I did run. But I'm pretty sure that breaking off our engagement was enough of an addressing the problem."  
"Have you told him that you are not going to take him back?"  
Louise sighed, "Not in as many words."  
"Well, it's a good thing that you are talented with words." Grissom smiled, holding out the tarantula for her. She shook her head, before returning to the layout room to process the evidence with Sara.

xxx

Louise didn't see Jem for nearly a week, but he sent flowers every morning. Every morning, Judie would bin the bouquet and hand Louise the attached card. Each sentiment was the same, _Take me back – Jem, _and Louise took pleasure in sending the card through the shredder that sat behind reception. She found the process very therapeutic and by the end of the week, had erased every trace of Jem that was engraved in her heart.  
"Lou-bear?" She heard the familiar voice one morning as she was leaving the lab and spun around to face Jem.  
"Jeremy." She said sternly, "Enough! I need you to stop following me home and leaving flowers at reception and calling me. I need you to understand that we are never going to get back together. Ever. You need to move on and I need to live my new life."  
"But Lou-bear," he simpered, "I love you."  
"You should've thought about that when you slept with your secretary." Louise said, as Greg drove up to take her home.  
Jem grabbed her wrist as she walked away, but she slithered from his grip. "Go home, Jem."  
"Just give me another chance," he muttered after her.

Xxx

Louise slammed her locker shut and turned to Warrick, "I'm having a house warming party tomorrow; you free?"  
"Wouldn't miss it, Lou!" he smiled, closing his locker too. "Good job in your interrogation today, by the way. I've never seen that before."  
Louise blushed, "Thanks Rick. I figured that I'd sugar-coat my way to a confession; I've never tried it before. Although, I think Don tried to do in in New York but I don't think the Y chromosome has the same effect."  
"It was very impressive." He smiled one last time before slinging his jacket over his shoulder and walking out the locker room.  
Louise scrunched up her face as she walked into the DNA lab; Greg was listening to Marilyn Manson at ear splitting levels. "Greg!" she shouted over the beat, picking her way in between the counters to the CD player. She laughed as she hit the pause button on the CD and Greg stopped air drumming mid-beat.  
"Louise!" he whined.  
"Greg." She replied, mimicking his tone. "I'm heading back home; do you need a ride?"  
He shook his head, "I'm putting in some overtime on Sara and Grissom's case. I'll see you at the party."  
"I could give you a hand," she offered, "I haven't been in the lab for a couple months."  
"It's okay," he smiled, "You go unpack the wine glass box."  
She grinned, "Thanks for helping me this week. You have no idea how much I appreciate it."  
"It's no problem." He held her gaze for a moment smiling softly.  
"Greg!" Grissom said loudly, causing them both to jump. "Have you got my results yet?"  
"The gods of CODIS have blessed us with…. A match!?" he said, surprised by the happy beeping of the computer.  
Greg looked up from the screen he was consulting and Louise had vanished, having slipped out of the room when Grissom came in. She leant up against the wall around the corner and took a deep breath. Her heartbeat had accelerated dramatically and her thoughts were scrambled.  
"Oh wonderful." She muttered under her breath. She was falling for Greg Sanders.

* * *

**A.N. Another fairly short and somewhat rushed chapter. I'm trying to get to the good bits of the story, but obviously the character establishment is very important. I'm on October break, so I'm trying to write as much as possible before I go back to school. Hopefully I can post a few more chapters before next week. Please review as it provides me with motivation to** **continue. Thanks to InsaneOnTheInside for your continued support and great reviews.**

**Anyway, what do you think? Do you think Jem is really gone?  
**

**~Carley Idonea  
**


	7. Chapter 6 I Hate Roses

**All For Nothing**

* * *

**Chapter 6 – I Hate Roses**

Every available surface in Louise's apartment was occupied by vases and flowers and a friendly chatter filled the air. A gracious host, Louise fluttered between the gatherings of people in her pale yellow dress and became engaged in conversations with her guests.  
"Louise," Sara smiled at the blonde, "This party is great! And the apartment is gorgeous!"  
Catherine nodded in agreement and added, "Your dress is fabulous. What did we ever do without you?"  
Louise blushed, "Oh I'm sure you managed just fine."  
The older woman placed a hand on Louise's arm, "No, seriously. You really have been invaluable the last few months. Quite frankly I'm disappointed that you didn't come to us sooner."  
Sara just smiled, "You'll have to take that up with Grissom."  
Louise giggled, pushing a curl behind her ear and glancing around the room. "Excuse me, ladies." She said, politely as she noticed Greg admiring the pictures that she'd hung. Before she could reach him, however, she was high jacked by Warrick and Nick.  
"How's my two favourite guys?" she asked, as Nick draped his arm over her shoulder.  
Warrick smirked, "Your boyfriend is looking a little lonely." Louise raised her eyebrow as Nick and Warrick peered over their shoulders at Greg.  
"For the last time, Greg and I aren't dating. You know it's against lab policy." Louise too, glanced over her shoulder.  
"You're telling me," Nick teased, "That nothing is going on with you and Greg."  
Louise smiled, "That's exactly what I'm telling you."  
Both men rolled their eyes, "Whatever…" Nick muttered knowingly.  
Someone tapped a teaspoon to a glass and silence fell over the group as Catherine stepped forward, "I just wanted to thank Louise for hosting this wonderful party and express what I think everyone here feels." She took Louise's hand and pulled her to the centre of the room, "You've been an amazing addition to the team and we're so fortunate to have such a talented girl with us." She turned to Grissom, "And Gil, you're in a lot of trouble for letting her stay in New York for so long."  
Louise flushed scarlet, "Thanks Catherine." She looked around at her new friends, "Well, I suppose I'd better say a few words. Well, thank you all for coming. Thank you for all the flowers and for the new coffee machine. I'm afraid it's going to be much abused. But most importantly, thank you for how welcoming you have all been. Thank you for accepting me as part of the Vegas family and thank you for all of the support, particularly over the last couple of weeks."  
"We're just glad to have you on board, Lou." Nick added and she smiled broadly at him. There was a short round of applause and people turned back to their conversations.  
"I have something to add!" Louise heard from the door, an all too familiar voice. "Before you all go back to your conversations, I'd like to say something to Louise."  
She groaned as Jem pushed through the crowd to where she stood. "Jem…"  
"So for those of you who don't know me," he interrupted, "I am Louise's fiancé." There was a light murmuring in the crowd as he handed her another bouquet of red roses.  
"Now, Louise and I are having a little bit of difficulty at the moment, but I am here to set things straight. Tonight, we're going to go back to New York, where she belongs and we're going to get married." Louise looked around exasperated.  
"Jem, we're not…" he interrupted her again by kneeling down on one knee.  
"Louise Stephanie Carter, will you marry me?"  
She clenched her fist, "No."  
He stood up angrily and grabbed her arms, shaking her, "Why are you throwing us away?" Nick and Warrick jumped up, pulling Jem off of her and Greg stood in front of her protectively.  
"Oh, you're that idiot from the other night, aren't you?" Jem sneered at Greg.  
Greg sighed, "Dude, just give it up already. Louise is not going to marry you and she sure as hell isn't going to take you back. Why don't you leave while you still have a little bit of dignity before she loses every ounce of respect for you?"  
"Oh, I'll leave…" he said, threateningly, "I'll leave when I get my girl back!" He pulled himself from Warrick and Nick's grip swinging at Greg. His fist made contact with his face and Louise squealed as Greg pushed her away from him. Before Nick and Warrick could pull him up again, Jem had aimed a few more punches at Greg.  
Louise rushed to Greg and crouched down, "Are you okay?" she whispered, her anger building again.  
"You've ruined everything, you stupid geek!" Jem yelled, struggling with Nick and Warrick.  
She stood up sharply and stormed over to him, "Shut up!" she screamed, "Don't blame Greg for anything. If anything, blame yourself."  
"Why won't you take me back?" he pleaded.  
Louise laughed, "Well for one, my middle name isn't Stephanie. That's your secretary. And secondly..." she shoved the roses at him, "… I. Hate. Roses. Get out of my apartment."  
Nick and Warrick escorted him downstairs where a patrol car was waiting. Louise turned back to her guests with tears flowing down her cheeks, "I'm so sorry about this everyone."  
As Catherine and Sara were tending to Greg, she ran to her bedroom and slid down against the door. By the time, Nick and Warrick returned the guests had all dispersed and Grissom had his head up against the bedroom door, trying to coax Louise out.  
Through the door, he could hear her panicked hiccups interspersed with sobs and repeated whispers of "I'm so sorry."

Xxx

"Ms Carter," Marjorie Wescott taunted, but Louise wouldn't let the lawyer faze her, "Is this the corkscrew that you collected from the scene?" She held up a corkscrew, which Louise had swabbed and tested for DNA.  
"Yes. The DNA which I swabbed from the handle came back to your client, Tom Haviland." Louise replied, waiting for the attack to come. Warrick, Nick and Sara had already been in and Marjorie had completely torn them apart.  
"Thank you." There was a pause as Marjorie walked back to her podium. "Ms Carter, you recently filed a restraining order against your fiancé. Am I correct?"  
Louise nodded, "That is correct." She frowned slightly, failing to see how this was relevant.  
"The grounds of the restraining order where that he attacked you and your boyfriend at a house warming party, correct?"  
"Greg is not my boyfriend." She said quickly, "But yes, he attacked my colleague and I at my house warming party."  
"This must be a very emotional time for you, then? Having to call off your engagement and dealing with a stalker ex, it must make it very difficult for you to be objective when you collect your evidence."  
"I don't…" Louise started.  
Marjorie continued, "Given your very close relationship with your co-worker, it would be very easy for you to plant my clients DNA on the corkscrew, wouldn't it?"  
Louise sighed, "With every respect, Ms Wescott, my personal life has nothing to do with this case and I do not appreciate your wild accusations about my evidence collection."  
"But your personal life is to do with this case, is it not?" Marjorie continued to press. Louise glanced to the prosecution attorney for help and he stood up.  
"Objection."  
Marjorie looked to the judge with almost puppy dog eyes, "It's a relevant question, your honour. How will Ms Carter allow her emotions to cloud her judgment in a sensitive case like this?" She paused again and watched Louise for a moment, "No further questions."

"This is ridiculous!" she exclaimed, as she closed the courtroom door. Sara and Catherine were waiting outside for her. "Apparently, I am letting the emotion of my personal life cloud my judgment." She began to pace up and down.  
Catherine was called in and Louise sat down on the bench to Sara, "She pulled the Greg card. Apparently, 'my close relationship with my co-worker would make it too easy for me to fabricate evidence'."  
Sara frowned, "How does that work?"  
"Beats me." She shrugged, "Accused is entitled my ass." She added under her breath.  
There was silence for a moment, "She pulled the Grissom card." Sara whispered.  
Louise's eyes widened, "How did she know?"  
"I don't know." Sara replied shortly. "But I do know we're getting our asses kicked in there."

Xxx

Louise stuck her head into the DNA lab when she got back from the court room. Catherine had stormed off to find Grissom and Sara had gone to change.  
"You look pretty." Greg commented, as Louise smoothed down her skirt self-consciously.  
"How are the bruises healing?" Louise said softly, sitting in the stool next to Greg.  
He smiled at her, "All gone. The idiot left you alone now?"  
"Restraining order went through last night and they escorted him back to New York this morning." Greg gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.  
"Greg." She continued, "You know that the entire lab thinks something is going on between us. And so did Marjorie Wescott."  
"She was just trying to rattle you." He said, still holding her hand.  
Louise slipped her hand out from under Greg's, "Greg. Is this something?"  
He caught her gaze, "Do you want it to be?"  
She looked at him sadly, "You know the rules."  
"Ecklie doesn't have to know." He whispered, taking her hand again.  
She raised her eyebrow, "We're in a glass office."  
"Lou," Warrick said, holding open the door, "We've got Haviland. Grissom's going to court!"  
She stood up quickly and followed him out the door, turning to catch Greg's eye. He'd already turned back to his work and she sighed.  
"You okay, Lou?" Warrick asked, as they walked to the car. Nick was waiting for them at the entrance. She nodded solemnly and slipped into the back seat, staring at the road.

Xxx

Louise frowned at Grissom's expression. It was almost like he couldn't hear Marjorie. She was speaking awfully softly. With a jerk of realisation, Louise sat up straighter.  
"What is he doing?" Nick whispered.  
Grissom was staring at Ms Wescott's lips, trying to understand what she was saying and Louise waved her hand slightly. She knew that Grissom's lip reading wasn't brilliant but there was a way for him to understand the question.  
"Could she repeat the question?" he asked, watching Louise out the corner of his eye.  
"By visual comparison," he continued, explaining his theory about the scar.  
"What was that about?" Nick asked again, and Louise shrugged.  
Grissom was ambushed by Phillip Gerard and Louise caught sight of her Uncle signing something to his old mentor.  
"The Accused shall remain in the custody of the county jail." The judge said and the gavel confirmed his decision.  
"Good job, Lou." Grissom whispered in her ear as they left the court room, "Good to see that you still remember."  
The team walked out of the court house and Louise grinned, "Dinner's on me, guys!"  
Catherine shook her head, "I have to get home to Lindsay."  
Louise smiled, "Why don't you bring her? We haven't seen her for ages."  
Catherine returned the smile, "I'll call my mum."  
She walked away and Louise turned to the rest of the team, "Who's in?"

Xxx

"Do you really hate roses?" Warrick asked Louise, as they sat in the booth of Frank's Diner.  
She nodded, "I don't know what it is about them that I don't like. I think it's just so clichéd."  
"How so?"  
Louise shrugged, "I think if someone is going to take the time to buy you flowers, they should find out what your favourite flower and not go for an over-priced bouquet that doesn't mean anything."  
Lindsay grinned up at her favourite babysitter, "What's your favourite flower, Louise?"  
"Well, I quite like lilies and tulips." Louise smiled at the young girl, "What about you, Linds?"  
The girl frowned in concentration, "Umm… I think I like those pretty pink things that grow in the huge bunches in our front yard."  
"Those are called Sweet William." Louise laughed at Lindsay's reaction. She wrinkled her nose. "Eww no, I don't like those anymore. William is the most annoying boy ever!"  
The team laughed and Louise looked over at Greg, who smiled at her.  
_She had to go and make things complicated, didn't she?_

* * *

**A.N. Another chapter already?! What is this madness? For anyone who doesn't know the reference, the case mentioned was (3.02) 'The Accused is Entitled' starring the very talented Chad Michael Murrey. Of course Ecklie and his damn policy had to make an appearance; it is called All For Nothing after all. Sooo... What do you think? I'm starting to get really excited about this story again and am tempted to do some time jumps. Any objections?  
**

**Please review, I'll send you cake!  
**

**~Carley Idonea  
**


	8. Chapter 7 Three Little Birds

**All For Nothing**

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Three Little Birds**

„Don't Worry!" Nick sang loudly, turning up his car stereo. "About a thing…"  
Louise raised her eyebrows, laughing, "Really Nick?"  
"Because every little thing." Warrick joined in from the back seat.  
"IS GONNA BE ALRIGHT!" They chorused, severely out of tune. Louise turned to look out of her window, shaking her head.  
"Don't know you…." She muttered, as they pulled up to their scene. Brass and some of the uniformed officers turned to the Denali disapprovingly. Louise grabbed her kit and climbed out of the car quickly, while Nick and Warrick finished their song.  
"How are our Marley impersonators?" Brass asked, as Louise ducked under the tape.  
She rolled her eyes, "Don't even go there. Where are we anyway?"  
"About 20 miles from civilisation." He said, pointing, "Nearest town is in that general direction."  
Louise took in the miles of bleak desert around her as Nick and Warrick emerged from the truck in hysterics. She turned around and glared at them, "Are you done?"  
"Sorry, Lou" Warrick defended, "It's a good song!"  
"Woaaahh…" Nick interrupted, staring past the arguing pair at the crime scene. Louise followed his torch beam and cried out, for crawling towards them, gasping for air was a young girl. Dropping her kit, Louise shouted instructions while running towards the victim, closely followed by her co-workers.  
She fell to her knees and drew the girl to her. "Someone call the medics!"  
Louise frantically pulled off her cardigan and placed it on the victims bleeding stomach. The young girl looked up at Louise with wide, pleading eyes and Louise felt tears prick the corners of her eyes.  
"It's okay, sweetheart." Louise whispered as the dying child gripped her hand, "Just hang on, okay? The paramedics are on their way."  
She brushed some of the hair from the girl's face and looked around panicked. "Nick!" she shouted, her voice raised a few octaves, "Do something!"  
The Texan looked at the blonde sadly and with a jolt, she realised they were too late. Louise looked back down at the girl, stroking her forehead lightly.  
"What's your name, sweetheart?" Louise asked, softly, "Do you know who did this to you?"  
"Louise…" Nick said quietly, crouching down next to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. Nick closed the little girl's eyes and allowed Louise to bury her head in his neck.  
"Why do I do this job, Nicky?" Louise sighed, as the coroner moved the girl off her lap.  
Warrick knelt next to David as he documented the girl's injuries, "You guys are going to want to see this."  
David held out the girl's wrist, "Ligature marks." He noted sadly.  
Nick groaned and Louise walked over to the next body, "These two as well." She looked up at her co-workers. "What kind of psychopath would do this?"  
"That's why you do this job, Louise." Warrick said, staring out into the desert, riled by their newest case.

Xxx

"Lou," Nick walked up to his friend, leaning into the back of the Denali, "I'm going to need to bag your clothes." The blonde looked down at her blood soaked clothing and nodded, taking the overalls from him. He turned his back as she slipped into the navy blue jumpsuit and placed her clothing in a bindle. She dug in her kit and pulled out a butterfly clip, twisting her hair off her neck. "Let's do this." Louise said, menacingly. Nick placed the evidence bindle in the back of the truck and followed Louise out to the tape. Warrick was already snapping pictures of Louise's girl, so she took the second victim. David was just finishing up.  
"You ready to go, Louise?" he asked, scribbling on his clipboard.  
She nodded, "Talk to me."  
"Well, liver temp is 97.2; she's been dead less than two hours." He said gravely, "Single GSW to the head, multiple bruises and abrasions extending over her arms and legs as well as ligature marks."  
"We've been here at least an hour, so the killer must've been close when it was called in." Louise said, examining the area around the body. "How old do you think she is?"  
David took a quick look at her teeth and sighed, "I'd say around 18 years old. Louise, some of these injuries look old."  
"Prolonged abuse and imprisonment maybe?" Louise asked, pulling on her gloves.  
The coroner replied grimly, "It's starting to look an awful lot like that. Can I take her?"  
She nodded, picking up her torch and walking around the scene. Nick walked up behind her, closely followed by Warrick.  
"What did you get?" she asked, watching David load the three bodies into the van.  
"My victim was around 12 years old, visible prolonged abuse and single GSW to the head." Nick started, "Ligature marks, bruises, the works."  
"Your girl was 3 years old," Warrick added, "Same injuries as the other two."

Xxx

She'd pulled a double shift combing the crime scene and now, Louise sat on the bench in the locker room, staring blankly ahead. Sara and Catherine had passed through at the start of their shift but, after warnings from Nick and Warrick, had left the blonde staring into space. Grissom had explained to the team that this was the first case where a victim had died in Louise's arms. He'd pulled Sara and Catherine off their suicide case and had assigned them to Louise's case. Even Greg had cleared his backlog to make the triple murder his top priority.  
"Louise…" he said quietly, sitting down on the bench next to her. He squeezed her hand lightly, when she didn't respond.  
"I'm fine." She said, wiping a single tear from her cheek. She stood up confidently and he took her hand again as she walked past him.  
"You sure?" he asked. She nodded, pulling him up. "Let's go catch this bastard."  
As she stared into his eyes, he knew that she was serious and that she was going to be okay. He handed over the autopsy report, "Doc Robbins asked me to give this to you."  
She flipped it open and her eyes widened, "Can you test the samples please? See if we can identify them?"  
"Already on it." He followed her out of the locker room, "I'll get it to you as soon as it's finished testing."  
Everyone was waiting for her in the layout room and smiled sympathetically when she arrived.  
"Let's run it." Grissom said, once she'd taken her usual spot next to Warrick  
"I just got the autopsy results back from Doc…" Louise began, "All victims indicated signs of sexual assault."  
Catherine gasped, "Son of a b…"  
"He hasn't been able to identify any of them through Missing Persons, or CODIS or any other database that we have access to, but Greg is running their DNA as we speak." Louise continued, laying out the autopsy pictures on the table.  
"Ligature marks on all three victims looked like shackles, or cuffs." Louise sighed grimly, "And the evidence of abuse is just… horrific." She pulled out more pictures, "Bruises, cuts, scars, burns, broken bones, healed fractures."  
A shocked silence filled the room, interrupted when Greg ran in.  
"You are not going to believe this!" he panted, out of breath from his two metre sprint from the DNA lab. "Victim one and victim two are sisters and then the little girl is her daughter."  
"You sure about that?" Grissom pressed?  
He nodded, "Positive!"  
"So we're looking for two siblings who went missing… some time ago?" Warrick asked, opening a laptop and searching the Missing Person's database.  
"Rick…" Louise said slowly, "I think this is bigger than this. I think this is human trafficking."  
"What makes you say that?" Catherine started looking at the images.  
Louise frowned, "They were taken out to the middle of the desert, shot and then the killer just high-tailed it out of there, leaving no trace. These guys are pros and that make me think trafficking. Look at the abuse; no 15-year-old has a child unless they've been abused, or are in the sex trade."  
Nick sighed, "That actually sounds plausible. Now the problem is finding the killer, before he kills any other girls."  
"Why do you think there will be other girls?" Louise asked, sadly.  
Nick pointed at one of the injuries that each girl had, "That is a brand. No one brands their victims unless they're in a larger organisation."  
He slid the picture across to Louise who examined it closer. "I think it's an animal …"  
She passed it over to Warrick, who squinted, "I think it's a coyote."  
"Wow… That narrows down our search area; it's not like there aren't coyotes in the whole flipping desert."  
"Has that new trace kid arrived yet?" Nick asked, examining a container of something he'd picked off the victim's clothing.  
Grissom shook his head, "He's not due for a couple more weeks."  
"I'll run it." Louise said, holding out her hand for the container. She was beginning to feel flustered and focused all her energy on not hyperventilating. When she'd seen the autopsy report and Greg had tested the DNA, she was ready to cry. She set up her tests on the tiny piece of tiny and held herself steady on the counter in the trace lab. _"No 15-year-old has a child unless they've been abused." _Her own words were ringing in her ears and she fumbled in her pocket for her phone. "Emma?" Louise said when she answered the phone, "Oh, nothing's wrong. I'm just working a really tough case at the moment. How's Heather?"  
No one could understand why Louise was in a better mood when she returned to the layout room with her results.  
"Nick, your tiny bit of tiny; Animal, Mineral or Vegetable?" she smiled, smoothing out a map.  
He frowned, "I'm going to go with Vegetable."  
She circled an area on the map, "Not quite. It's a mushroom which, luckily for us is only found in one area of Vegas."

Xxx

"Louise!" Brass radioed from the patrol car up ahead, "You have to let me take the lead on this one. No going anywhere without backup. Clear?"  
"I've got it." She replied, trying to keep up with the line of police vehicles in front of her.  
Nick gripped the dashboard in front of him as they bumped down a dirt track, "Next time…" he swallowed, looking green, "…I'm driving."  
"You always drive," she shot back, stepping on the accelerator.  
"There's a reason for that..." he gasped as she sped up.  
He started singing under his breath and Louise strained her ears to hear him, "Rise up this morning…"  
She rolled her eyes, "Bob Marley? Again?"  
"Every little thing…" he gasped, "…is gonna be alright, if Louise doesn't kill me in the next ten minutes."  
"Very funny…"

Xxx

As shouts of '_clear'_ echoed around the abandoned warehouse, Louise felt her heart drop. When Brass emerged from the last room looking sombre, she feared the worst.  
"You're going to want to see this."  
Louise followed him back into the room where she gasped. The walls were covered in blood, shackles bolted into the plaster and in the centre of it all a Polaroid picture lay on the floor.  
She picked it up with a glove, careful not to smudge any fingerprints, "Oh no." she cried, " We're too late."  
Nick held out a clear bag and she dropped it in. He looked closer at the image. A dark room, the one they were standing in, filled with wild-eyed girls staring helplessly at the camera, while chained to the walls and one another.  
"They knew we were coming…" Louise murmured, taking her kit from the uniform who had gone back to the truck.  
She pulled out swabs and began to take samples from the walls and floor, her face dead-panned. "Nick." She said quietly, "How many girls were in that picture?"  
He counted the faces he could see, "20. Why?"  
"I get the feeling we're going to find 20 more bodies in the next couple of weeks."  
"It never hurts to be hopeful," he reassured.  
She shook her head, "You saw what they did to the three we found. I just fear for the safety of the others."

xxx

"Please tell me you've managed to ID those girls," Louise pleaded as she walked into the DNA lab.  
Greg grinned, "I have matched the DNA of twelve of the girls to active Missing Persons cases. All of them are really old cases going back to the 80s, but then there are your three who aren't in any system at all."  
"Have you tried familial searches?" she asked, flicking through the pictures of the girls Greg had identified.  
"No hits so far. I've tried to find a pattern in the kidnappings, but they're literally from all over the country. New Jersey, Miami, Vegas… This one was from Texas." He pointed to each picture, "They're from different backgrounds, different ethnicities… I can't find a link anywhere."  
Greg's computer beeped and he pulled the screen around, "I don't believe it…"  
"Looks like I'm going to prison." Louise smiled, grabbing the files and stopping at the printer, "Thanks Greg; good job."

* * *

**A.N. This chapter was inspired by this week's episode 'Wild Flowers'. I wanted to jump ahead a little bit, but then I thought this would be a good case for Louise and it sets up a plot line for WAAAAAAAAAAY down the line. I'll continue this case in the next chapter, where I'll explain the whole prison thing... We're still on Season Three, just to clarify, between 'The Accused is Entitled' and 'The Execution of Catherine Willows' (which will make an appearance after this case). There wasn't very much Greg/Louise romance happening in this chapter after their little chat last chapter. Damn you Ecklie. Has anyone else noticed that it's only Vegas who has major issues with that policy? I'm pretty darn sure that in NY and Miami, there are loads inter-team relationships.**

**Anyway, please review. I'll send you cake... (I PROMISE.)  
**

**~Carley Idonea.  
**


	9. Chapter 8 Are You Kidding Me?

**All For Nothing**

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Are you kidding me?!**

"So Mr Parez," Louise asked the man in the orange jump suit who had been glaring at her for the last ten minutes, "Why didn't you report your daughter missing?"  
The man folded his arms and Brass hit the table in anger, "You'd better start talking; your daughter has been missing for 12 years. Why didn't you inform the authorities?"  
He still said nothing. Louise opened the case file. "Mr Parez, you've been in prison for twelve years, for possession of cocaine. It's more than a little coincidence that your daughter also went missing twelve years ago. So what, did you sell her for drugs?"  
The guy's expression confirmed Louise's fears and she exchanged a look with Brass. "Mr Parez, is your daughter in this photograph?"  
He shook his head pursing his mouth angrily. Louise's eyes widened, pulling out her the pictures of the 'Three Little Birds' as Nick had begun calling them.  
"Is this your daughter?" He looked at the first picture with no emotion but with the girl's sister he became visibly upset.  
"They took my Carla?" he sobbed, stroking the picture.  
"Carla?" Louise asked, tentatively.  
"I'm going to kill them!" he yelled, smashing his fist to the table. Louise jumped but managed to stay calm.  
"Mr Parez! If you don't tell me what happened, then I'm afraid I can't help you. I need to find out who killed Carla, and I can't do that unless you tell me the truth." Louise watched the man's expression soften.  
"Before I was stuck in the joint, I got in with a bad crowd; Russian Mafia sort. I owed them a load of money but I couldn't pay up. Maria was a peace offering; they said they would leave the rest of my family. Carla was staying with her Grandma." He covered his face with his hands.  
Brass took a seat next to Louise, "And where was her Grandma staying?"  
"She had a house in Pahrump."

Xxx

"We found a body in the back garden," Brass said down the phone, as Louise stared through the glass at Mr Parez, "Looks like they got to Grandma too."  
"Thanks, let me know if you find anything else." Louise watched Mr Parez for a while longer. She frowned; something definitely wasn't right. When she walked back into the interrogation room, he was smirking. "Mr Parez, I have a question for you. How did you know that picture was of Carla? She would've been only a few months old when you were put in prison."  
"Do you have kids, Ms Carter?" He asked.  
Louise frowned, "This isn't about me."  
"You would recognise your own kid." He replied, "It's a parental thing. I knew that was my Carla the moment I looked in her eyes."  
He stared at Louise as though he was trying to read her, "You look like you were a parent once."  
She raised her eyebrow, "I'm 23, trust me; not a parent."  
"You've got that look…" he taunted.  
"There's a look?" she questioned, irritated by his persistence. Nick knocked on the window of the interrogation room, beckoning Louise.  
"Lou, this guy is stalling. You're not going to get anything else useful out of him." He rubbed her arm reassuringly, "You okay?"  
She jumped, "Yeah, sorry. Zoned out for a second… Where are we on tracking down the circle?"  
"We've cross referenced 'Russian mobsters' with coyotes and drug circles and have come up empty. Greg is looking through all the old Vegas references to coyotes at the moment. But Grissom wants you to go home… You've been working non-stop for three days." He steered her down the hall and took her back to the lab.  
"I need to solve this case, Nick." She protested.  
He stood with her in reception to ensure that she clocked out and then escorted her back to her car, "What is it with me having to tell you that you want solve a case on caffeine and sleep deprivation?" he teased, as she wound down the window and started up the Lexus.  
"I'll see you later Nick." She yawned through her smile. Before she could pull out of the parking lot, however, she heard the emergency bell from PD. "Looks like I'm not going home then…"  
She followed Nick to the building and slipped in the front door, where cops were running around the corridors madly. Louise spotted Brass among the chaos.  
"BRASS!" she shouted above the noise, "What happened?"  
"Your BFF, Mr Parez, broke out!" he explained when they reached him, "He's been playing us this whole time!"  
"What?" Nick frowned, "How is that even possible?"  
Louise gripped her hair in frustration, "So what, he's involved?"  
"It looks like it." Brass replied grimly.  
"I'm so sorry, Brass," Louise sighed, "This is all my fault."  
"Hey," Nick touched her shoulder reassuringly, "You didn't know that he was going to be a shady bastard. Don't blame yourself for any of this."  
"Even if I don't," she said softly, watching all the uniforms glare at her as they walked past, "They will."  
Grissom and the rest of the graveyard team came running in from the crime lab, "What's going on?" he panted, seeing the chaos erupting around him.  
"Parez escaped," Louise muttered, "He was only screwing us over,"  
"How the hell did he manage to escape police custody though?" Nick added, "Unless…"  
"Don't even go there Nicky," Louise warned.  
He held up his hands, "I'm just saying…"  
Brass stepped forward threateningly, "Woah, woah, woah! Don't go blaming my guys here Stokes. They had nothing to do with this."  
"Well how do you explain him getting out then, Jim" he emphasised, returning the threat.  
Catherine stepped between them, "Gentlemen, please. This is _not_ helping."  
"She's right." Louise added, "Standing here bickering about whose fault this is won't find the guy and it won't get us any closer to finding who killed Carla, Maria and her daughter."  
Brass cleared his throat, "Right. I'll organise this lot and sent out some guys."  
Grissom slipped his arm around Louise's shoulder, "Lou, I'm going to have Greg drive you home.  
"But…" she began.  
"Louise…" he interrupted sternly as Greg reached the group. His featured softened and he pulled her aside, "I'm worried about you. You are getting too involved in these cases. I want you to go home and get some sleep, okay?"  
"Alright, Gil." She replied in a whisper, "Just… find him, please."  
He nodded, "Greg…"

Xxx

Greg walked Louise up to her apartment, making sure that she didn't make a run for it.  
"Do you want to come in?" she asked at the door. Greg shifted uncomfortably and Louise sighed, "Grissom wants you to keep an eye on me?"  
Greg nodded, following her into the apartment. "He's right, Lou. We're worried about you."  
She dumped her bag on the floor and threw her weapon into the safe, frustrated that her only break in finding the girl's murderer had just slipped their clutches. "I'm fine, Greg. Really."  
She stopped, halfway through searching for a coffee mug and used the kitchen counter for balance. Greg wrapped his arms around her and she turned into his chest, burying her head in his shoulder. "I am a crappy CSI." She muttered, as he held her.  
"Don't say that Lou!" he objected, lifting up her chin, "You're a damn good CSI! You've been here for five months and have already made Level 3. That's 100 cases solved in 5 months."  
"But I let myself get too emotional about my cases," she sighed, trying to avoid his eyes, "I become obsessed with solving cases. You heard Nick; that is the 5th time he's told me since I got here that caffeine and sleep deprivation won't solve a case."  
Greg forced her to look into his eyes, "You are passionate about your job. You become involved in your cases because you see your duty to the victims' families and friends to bring the perpetrator to justice. You are amazing at seeing the other side of the story and you don't stop until you find what you are looking for. That is not obsession; that's dedication."  
Louise smiled lightly, "You're too nice to me, Greg." She whispered, leaning in. She slipped her hand behind his neck and rose up onto her tiptoes, kissing him lightly.

Greg groaned as his phone rang, "Are you flipping kidding?"  
She sighed as he checked the caller ID, "It's Grissom."  
"It's okay. Answer it." She turned back to her coffee machine and started up the process. Greg wandered into the living room and talked to her uncle in a low voice.  
When he finished his call she handed him a cup of coffee.  
"Grissom wants me to go back to the lab. He's got some evidence from PD which needs to be processed." He grimaced, taking a sip from his coffee. He sighed as he put the cup onto the coffee table, "I should probably go."  
Louise nodded, walking with him to the door, "Greg."  
He turned around expectantly and she contemplated kissing him again.  
"… Thanks for driving me home." She bit her lip as he waved, closing the door behind him and sliding down the wood, muttering to herself. _"Idiot!"_

* * *

**A.N. Aaaaannndd... They're not together (yet.) Apologies. Sorry for not updating in a while; I've been really busy with school. Please R&R and let me know what you think. I absolutely love this case and I think it might become Louise's Nate Haskell... I've got some amazing story lines coming up, surrounding the Three Little Bird killer (and obviously the escapee) as well as Louise, Greg and all the lab shenanigans. If you have any requests for scenes/chapters you'd like to see, perhaps more Grissom/Louise bonding or of course my OTP, Greg and Louise, then please leave your comments in the section below. **

**In other news... OMG Season 13 feels! Since when has Nick had a girlfriend, by the way? And I think I'm more of a Modges fan, than Morganders, but she is starting to bug me a little bit. Still love Elizabeth Harnois though! Anyway... I'll try write another chapter by the weekend. **

**~Much love, CI****  
**


	10. Chapter 9 It's The Small Things

**All For Nothing**

* * *

**Chapter Nine – It's the small things**

Nick and Warrick watched through the glass as Louise poured over copious notes from her Three Little Birds case. Mr Parez had been on the run for a few months and she'd been reading through the case file every day and retesting all her evidence every few weeks, looking for something she had missed.

"She's not going to stop until she solves it, you know." Grissom said, walking behind them.  
Warrick shook his head, "It's been weeks since we've found anything; this guy has vanished. This is going to end up being another fish board case."  
"Already up there," Nick replied, "She stuck it up a few days ago."  
"I'm worried about her," Warrick frowned  
The three watched as Greg walked into the room with a results file and sat down next to her, "As long as Romeo over there keeps charming her, I think we'll be fine." Nick smiled.  
"You really think that Greg is going to charm Louise?" Grissom repeated, "She knows the rules."  
Warrick and Nick exchanged a look, "So does Greg…"

xxx

"Hey Lou," Greg said, handing her a manila envelope, "I reran all your evidence; nothing new." She buried her head in her hands. "I'm sorry."  
"No, Greg, it's not your fault." She replied, adding his envelope to her ever-growing pile of the same results, every week. "I don't know why I keep expecting something new."  
"Look, Louise," he moved a pile of case notes and sat down next to her, "We're going to catch these guys. Eventually Parez is going to slip up and we'll find him… You'll get justice for these girls."  
She smiled slightly as he helped her re-box all the evidence, "You know, something that surprised me about this whole case is that we haven't found any new bodies. When they left us that Polaroid, I thought that they'd kill more of the girls."  
"Are you sure they haven't?" Greg asked cautiously, signing the evidence log.  
Louise shrugged, "Everyone down in the morgue is looking for the brand, so nothing that has passed through our doors is related, and I think they'll want us to find the bodies. They want to taunt us; rub it in that we have nothing."  
"Isn't it a consolation that they're not killing the girls?"  
Her head shook gravely, "I dread to think what hell they're being putting through. You saw the Parez girls and the injuries in the Polaroid… They must be going through the most unimaginable torture and for such a long period of their lives as well. Most of the missing girls were kidnapped in the 80s."  
"You will find them." He replied confidently, "You will find Parez and the bastards behind this operation and save those girls."  
"I hope you're right." She sighed, sadly.  
He took her hand reassuringly, "I know I am. You're damn good at what you do and are such an asset to this team."  
She blushed, "Thank you, Greg." Their hands will still intertwined and she looked down at them. "Greg… are we ever going to talk about what happened the night that Parez escaped?"  
"What is there to talk about?" He replied, slipping his hand out of hers nervously.  
She opened her mouth to reply when she was interrupted by their pagers, summoning them to the break room. "I'll see you in there," Louise said quickly, "I need to put this stuff back in the vault." Turning her back so that Greg wouldn't see the crushed look on her face, she waited until he'd left before letting out the breath she hadn't realised she was holding.

Greg frowned as he walked away from her, frustrated by his idiocy. In the one moment that he could've told her everything, he decided to play it 'Kappa Kool'. "_Stupid fraternity instincts" _he muttered under his breath. For almost a year, they'd been dancing around whatever it was that was going on. _"Stupid Ecklie's rules" _He added. While waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, he made a pot of Hawaiian Blue coffee, pouring two cups. Perhaps he could begin to redeem himself. _Step one, make Louise coffee. _It was the small things that put a smile on her face. The small things included coffee, when he picked her up for work, or when her prints got a hit in CODIS. Her 'small things' smile was the one that Greg loved the most about her; it was sweet and gentle but it lit up her entire face. As for the rest of the steps in this master plan… well, those were still pending. Louise was frowning when she turned up in the break room, closely followed by Warrick and Grissom. Greg sidled up next to her and slipped the coffee into her hands without a word. She stopped frowning, but didn't quite make it to a smile. _Almost there. _

"Warrick, Louise, you're with Catherine." Grissom said, handing them their slip, "Copy-cat killer at the university."  
Louise read the slip over Warrick's shoulder, "As in a Mather's Copy-Cat? Catherine's stay of execution? The WLVU serial case from 15 years ago?"  
"It would seem so…" Grissom replied, "Make sure that you read up on the case before you get to the scene, any inconsistencies could help you catch the killer."  
"Got it," they chorused, Louise finishing her mug of coffee.  
Grissom watched as she handed the mug back to the sandy-haired lab tech, their hands brushing slightly and the ceramic passed between them. He shook his head, "Nick, Sara and I are on the missing girl case; we've got to finish processing the pig-sty."  
"Well, from Nick's photos," Louise commented, "I'm glad that I'm not at that house."  
"I'll go grab some of Catherine's notes from the original cases," Warrick said, "I'll meet you in the Denali?"  
Louise smiled, catching the keys that he threw, "Great, I get to drive?"  
"Nice try, Blondie." He replied laughing and she folded her arms in mock annoyance as he walked away.  
"One day, they'll let me drive." She muttered under her breath.  
Grissom laughed, "I think your driving might be a little wild for Nick… He was looking green the last time you were behind the wheel of the Denali."  
"It's a big car," Louise defended, "It's not like I'm breaking any speed limits. In any case, it was you who taught me to drive, Gil."  
"And I take full responsibility for any damage that you might cause to the vehicle or your passengers."  
She shook her head, "Bully… I will see you both later. Thanks for the coffee, Greggo." _There was that little smile._

Louise paged through the documents on her knees as Warrick drove to the university. "Okay so, fifteen years ago WLVU security guard, John Mathers was convicted for the murder of student Charlene Roth. It matched the M.O for the other two co-eds. Sexually assaulted, cable ties on the wrists, dumped in trash bags, strangled. Apparently, all of the victims hands were covered in blue paint but they were never able to work out what that had to do with anything. Suspects included the first victim, Janet Kent's boyfriend but he was exonerated by pubic hairs on victim number three, Charlene Roth. We weren't using DNA back then, so they matched the hairs using microscopy. The DA never charged Mathers for the murders of Janet Kent and Marcia Reese because of the overwhelming evidence from Charlene."  
"Anything we need to be on the lookout for?" Warrick asked, driving up to the scene. They could see Catherine bending over a black plastic bag with David looking over her shoulder.  
"Yeah: Catherine." Louise said, softly, "If the mitochondrial DNA proves that Mathers didn't kill Charlene, then she's going to have to re-testify." As they pulled their kits from the back of the car, Louise looked up at Warrick, "You ever have a case go this far?"  
He shook his head, "Nope, you?"  
"I haven't had an execution conviction yet." Louise shuddered, ducking under the tape. "Hey Catherine," She was peering at a jar, frowning.  
"Hey Lou, you know bugs right?" she asked, handing her the jar, "What is that?"  
The blonde held up the evidence towards the light, "Too a degree. It looks like a casing, but you'd have to ask Grissom."  
"That looks familiar." Warrick said grimly, pointing to the body.  
Catherine followed his gaze, "Too familiar."

Xxx

"Greg" Louise smiled, walking into his lab, "Have you got my trace from the blue paint?"  
"Yeah," he handed over the results, "Motor oil. It kept it from drying."  
She frowned, "Well, that's weird." She noticed a report on his desk. "You might want to give the report from the Feds to Catherine; she might kill you in the process though."  
Louise walked over to where Grissom was examining the railing that they'd brought in from the campus. "Results from the paint; WLVU Blue, oil based, mixed with motor oil, couldn't match it to a specific brand of paint. The motor oil messed with the composition. Stopped it from drying."  
"Well, at least now we know what the blue paint was about." Grissom replied, running over the railing with a magnifying glass.  
"Sara identified the black fibers found on your cicada. Generic black Chevy interior, she's getting me a list of anyone on campus with any of the matching models but given that the campus is so big… it could take me months to run down all those names."  
"Keep at it. We'll have to catch this guy, sooner or later."  
Louise passed Catherine her way out, "Slam dunk on Mathers…" she called to Grissom.

Xxx

After Mathers' execution and yet another dead-end, Nick took Louise and Sara out for breakfast.  
"You know," Louise said, wrapping her hands around her warm coffee cup, "It kind of scares me that this guy has kept quiet for fifteen years."  
"Means he's probably in prison." Nick replied absent-mindedly, consulting his menu card.  
She allowed herself a moment to think, "What if it was intentional? What if he waited for fifteen years, just to be sure that there weren't any other copy cats? It makes me wonder about all of those cold, serial cases. What if they're just lying dormant? There could be thousands of psychos out there… and we've got one in our backyard. He kept Janet Kent's hair for fifteen years. It's just… creepy."  
"Well, serial killers aren't exactly known for their warm, cuddly qualities." Sara replied.  
Louise sighed, "This one is getting to Grissom. He thinks that this guy might be smarter than him and it makes him uncomfortable."  
"Serial killers always make him uncomfortable. Remember Paul Millander?" Nick asked. Louise frowned, but Sara nodded.  
"Who's Paul Millander?"  
"Grissom didn't tell you about him?" After a confused look confirmed that, Nick continued, "He was some wacko about a year ago, who murdered people with the same birthday as him, in descending order. He staged the bodies so that it looked like suicide and managed to get hold of Grissom's prints. It was quite creepy because the guy turned up a few months later as a judge."  
"Did you catch the guy?" Louise asked, resting her chin on her hand.  
"No, he committed suicide before we could arrest him." Sara shuddered, remembering how much of a creep the guy was. "The case frustrated Grissom like you have no idea."  
"I can imagine. I've had a look at some of the fish board cases… You can tell how much he looks at those files; the ink is rubbing off."  
"He hates the ones that get away." Sara commented.  
Louise sighed, muttering under her breath, "That makes two of us."

* * *

**A.N. Hi there! Well, would you look at that? I finally finished and uploaded a chapter! My senior year has just finished, so I have an awful amount of time on my hands meaning I can finally go and update all of my stories. In my boredom, I started back at Season 1 of CSI (as well as every other show I've watched in my life) and have so many ideas! I'm so excited about getting back into this fic and all of the ideas that I have planned.**

**I figured, there is no point in actually going through any of the cases that have been featured (apart from the big ones) but just to have snippets of them to clarify the timeline.**

**Anyway, please review and I will hopefully update again soon. (After all, it has been about a year.)**

**~C.I **

**xoxo**


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